U.S. patent number 9,474,005 [Application Number 14/072,236] was granted by the patent office on 2016-10-18 for multi-cell communication method and system of a mobile terminal, a micro base station, and a macro base station.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Kyung Hun Jang, Tae Soo Kwon, Jong Bu Lim, Chang Yong Shin.
United States Patent |
9,474,005 |
Kwon , et al. |
October 18, 2016 |
Multi-cell communication method and system of a mobile terminal, a
micro base station, and a macro base station
Abstract
Communication methods of a macro base station which collects
position information about a mobile micro base station and that is
served by the macro base station, predicts a channel between the
macro base station and the micro base station, and performs a
handover between the macro base station and the micro base station
based on a state of the predicted channel is provided.
Inventors: |
Kwon; Tae Soo (Hwaseong-si,
KR), Jang; Kyung Hun (Suwon-si, KR), Lim;
Jong Bu (Yongin-si, KR), Shin; Chang Yong (Seoul,
KR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. |
Suwon-si |
N/A |
KR |
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Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
(Suwon-si, KR)
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Family
ID: |
44902270 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/072,236 |
Filed: |
November 5, 2013 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20140073332 A1 |
Mar 13, 2014 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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12987378 |
Jan 10, 2011 |
8594675 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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May 10, 2010 [KR] |
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10-2010-0043414 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W
36/32 (20130101); H04W 72/00 (20130101); H04W
92/20 (20130101); H04W 36/08 (20130101); H04W
64/003 (20130101); H04W 88/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04W
36/00 (20090101); H04W 72/00 (20090101); H04W
36/30 (20090101); H04W 92/20 (20090101); H04W
64/00 (20090101); H04W 88/08 (20090101); H04W
36/08 (20090101) |
Field of
Search: |
;455/436 ;370/331 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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10-2009-0032544 |
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Apr 2009 |
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KR |
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10-2009-0072765 |
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Jul 2009 |
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KR |
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10-2009-0100000 |
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Sep 2009 |
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KR |
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10-2009-0112337 |
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Oct 2009 |
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KR |
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10-2009-0112911 |
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Oct 2009 |
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KR |
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Other References
International Search Report and Written Opinion of the
International Searching Authority issued Sep. 26, 2011, in
counterpart International Application No. PCT/KR2011/000471 (7 pp,
in English). cited by applicant .
Korean Office Action issued on Jan. 13, 2016 in counterpart Korean
Patent Application No. 10-2010-0043414 (8 pages in English; 5 pages
in Korean). cited by applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Karikari; Kwasi
Attorney, Agent or Firm: NSIP Law
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/987,378, filed Jan. 10, 2011, which claims
the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(a) of Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2010-0043414, filed on May 10, 2010, in the
Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosures of
which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A communication method of a macro base station, the
communication method comprising: receiving a handover request
message of a terminal, through a control channel between the
terminal and the macro base station; in response to the handover
request message, in response to a target base station of a handover
being the macro base station, establishing a data channel between
the terminal and the macro base station, and in response to the
target base station of the handover being a micro base station,
transmitting data to the micro base station in a cell coverage of
the macro base station; and continuously maintaining the control
channel between the terminal and the macro base station after the
handover is completed, regardless of whether the target base
station of the handover is the micro base station or the macro base
station, regardless of the terminal requesting a handover to be
performed from the micro base station to another micro base
station, and regardless of whether or not the terminal requests the
handover to be performed from the micro base station to the other
micro base station.
2. The communication method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining whether the target base station of the handover is the
micro base station or the macro base station, based on the handover
request message.
3. The communication method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting of
the data to the micro base station comprises: disconnecting the
data channel between the macro base station and the terminal, in
response to a handover of the terminal being performed from the
macro base station to the micro base station.
4. The communication method of claim 1, further comprising:
disconnecting the control channel between the macro base station
and the terminal, in response to the terminal establishing a
control channel with another macro base station.
5. The communication method of claim 1, wherein the micro base
station and the macro base station comprise a channel prediction
database, and wherein the channel prediction database stores
information about channels between the micro base station and the
macro base station, based on possible positions of the micro base
station.
6. The communication method of claim 5, further comprising:
predicting a channel between the micro base station and the macro
base station, by using the channel prediction database.
7. A communication method of a terminal, the communication method
comprising: transmitting a handover request message of the terminal
to a macro base station, through a control channel between the
terminal and the macro base station; determining whether a target
base station of a handover is the macro base station or a micro
base station, and in response to the target base station of the
handover being the macro base station, establishing a data channel
between the terminal and the macro base station, and in response to
the target base station of the handover being a micro base station,
receiving data from the micro base station; and regardless of
whether the target base station of the handover is the micro base
station or the macro base station, continuously maintaining the
control channel between the terminal and the macro base station
after the handover is completed, until a control channel between
the terminal and another macro base station is established.
8. The communication method of claim 7, wherein the receiving of
the data from the micro base station comprises: establishing a data
channel between the micro base station and the terminal, while the
control channel between the terminal and the macro base station is
continuously maintained.
9. The communication method of claim 7, further comprising:
comparing a quality of a signal received from the micro base
station with a predetermined value; and requesting the macro base
station for a handover to the micro base station or another micro
base station, through the control channel being continuously
maintained, based on a result of the comparison.
10. The communication method of claim 9, further comprising:
establishing a new control channel and a new data channel between
the other micro base station and the terminal while the control
channel between the terminal and the macro base station is
continuously maintained.
11. A communication method of a terminal, the communication method
comprising: transmitting a handover request message of the terminal
to a macro base station, through a control channel between the
terminal and a macro base station, wherein the transmitting of the
handover request message of the terminal comprises determining
whether a level of a broadcast signal received from a micro base
station is a predetermined value or more, and based on a
determination that the level of a broadcast signal received from a
micro base station is the predetermined value or more, transmitting
the handover request message requesting a handover from the macro
base station to the micro base station, through the control channel
between the terminal and the macro base station; determining
whether a target base station of the handover is the macro base
station or the micro base station, and in response to the target
base station of the handover being the macro base station,
establishing a data channel between the terminal and the macro base
station, and in response to the target base station of the handover
being a micro base station, receiving data from the micro base
station; and continuously maintaining the control channel between
the terminal and the macro base station after the handover is
completed, regardless of whether the target base station of the
handover is the micro base station or the macro base station.
12. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a
program to implement the method of claim 1.
13. A macro base station, comprising: a message reception unit
configured to receive a handover request message of a terminal,
through a control channel between the terminal and the macro base
station; a data channel establishment unit configured to, in
response to the handover request message, when a target base
station of a handover is the macro base station, establish a data
channel between the terminal and the macro base station, and when
the target base station of the handover is the micro base station,
transmit data to a micro base station in a cell coverage of the
macro base station; and a channel maintenance unit configured to
continuously maintain the control channel between the terminal and
the macro base station after the handover is completed, regardless
of whether the target base station of the handover is the micro
base station or the macro base station, wherein the channel
maintenance unit is further configured to continuously maintain the
control channel between the terminal and the macro base station
regardless of the terminal requesting a handover to be performed
from the micro base station to another micro base station and when
the terminal requests the handover to be performed from the micro
base station to the other micro base station.
14. The macro base station of claim 13, wherein the macro base
station is configured to determine whether the target base station
of the handover is the micro base station or the macro base station
based on the handover request message, and the data channel
establishment unit is configured to establish a data channel
between the macro base station and the terminal or between the
micro base station and the terminal based on a result of the
determination.
15. The macro base station of claim 13, wherein the channel
maintenance unit is configured to disconnect the control channel
between the macro base station and the terminal in response to the
terminal establishing a control channel with another macro base
station.
16. A terminal, comprising: a message transmission unit configured
to transmit a handover request message of the terminal to a macro
base station, through a control channel between the terminal and
the macro base station; a data channel establishment unit
configured to establish a data channel between the terminal and the
macro base station when a target base station of a handover is the
macro base station, and to receive data from the micro base station
when the target base station of the handover is the micro base
station; and a control channel maintenance unit configured to
continuously maintain the control channel between the terminal and
the macro base station after the handover is completed, regardless
of whether the target base station of the handover is the micro
base station or the macro base station, wherein the control channel
maintenance unit is further configured to continuously maintain the
control channel between the terminal and the macro base station
until a control channel between the terminal and another macro base
station is established.
17. The terminal of claim 16, wherein in response to a signal
reporting that a handover from the macro base station to another
micro base station is completed in response to the handover request
message of the terminal being received, the control channel
maintenance unit is configured to establish a new control channel
between the other micro base station and the terminal while the
control channel between the terminal and the macro base station is
continuously maintained, and the data channel establishment unit is
configured to disconnect the data channel between the terminal and
the macro base station, and establish a new data channel between
the other micro base station and the terminal.
Description
BACKGROUND
1. Field
The following description relates to a multi-cell communication
system including a macrocell and a microcell.
2. Description of Related Art
A multi-cell communication system, for example, a hierarchical-cell
communication system, typically includes a macrocell and at least
one microcell. For example, the macrocell may include a macro base
station of a cellular communication system, and the microcell may
include a femto base station or pico base station.
A micro base station, such as a femto base station or pico base
station, may be fixed in a predetermined position in order to serve
terminals, or it may be installed in vehicles having mobility, for
example, a bus, in order to serve terminals on the bus.
SUMMARY
In one general aspect, there is provided a communication method of
a macro base station, the communication method comprising
collecting position information about a micro base station that is
mobile and that is served by the macro base station, predicting a
channel between the macro base station and the micro base station
using information stored in a channel prediction database that
stores information about channels between the macro base station
and the micro base station and the position information about the
micro base station based on possible positions of the micro base
station, and transmitting and receiving data between the macro base
station and the micro base station based on a state of the
predicted channel.
The predicting of the channel may comprise predicting a traveling
path of the micro base station using information stored in the
channel prediction database, and extracting the information about
the channels between the macro base station and the micro base
station based on the possible positions of the micro base station
from the channel prediction database.
The channel prediction database may further store at least one of
information about a traveling path of the micro base station,
information about geographical features of the surroundings of the
micro base station based on the possible positions of the micro
base station, information about possible traveling directions of
the micro base station, and information about possible traveling
speeds of the micro base station.
The communication method may further comprise collecting
information about the mobility of the micro base station, wherein
the predicting of the channel further comprises predicting the
channel based on the information about mobility of the micro base
station.
The micro base station may comprise a femto base station or a
moving relay and the micro base station may be installed in a
mobile vehicle.
In the transmitting and the receiving of the data, a beam may be
formed between the macro base station and the micro base station
based on a strength of the channel or a direction of the
channel.
The transmitting and the receiving of the data may comprise
determining a level of an optimal modulation and coding scheme
(MSC) or determining an allocation structure of an optimal wireless
resource, based on a strength of the channel or a direction of the
channel.
The communication method may further comprise determining whether a
traveling path of the micro base station is predictable, and
requesting feedback on information about the channel from the micro
base station based on whether the traveling path of the micro base
station is predictable.
The predicting of the channel may comprise predicting the channel
without requesting feedback on information about the channel from
the micro base station during a preset time period.
The transmitting and the receiving of the data may comprise
performing collective link adaptation for a plurality of terminals
in a zone that the micro base station exists in.
In another aspect, there is provided a communication method of a
micro base station that is mobile, the communication method
comprising collecting position information of the micro base
station and reporting about the information to a macro base
station, predicting a channel between the macro base station and
the micro base station using information stored in a channel
prediction database that stores information about channels between
the macro base station and the micro base station and the position
information about the micro base station based on possible
positions of the micro base station, and transmitting and receiving
data between the macro base station and the micro base station
based on a state of the predicted channel.
The predicting of the channel may comprise predicting a traveling
path of the micro base station using the information stored in the
channel prediction database, and extracting the information about
the channels between the macro base station and the micro base
station based on the possible positions of the micro base station
using the channel prediction database.
The communication method may further comprise reporting about the
position information about the micro base station to a neighbor
macro base station when additional association is needed between
the neighbor macro base station and the micro base station.
The communication method may further comprise selecting one macro
base station from among the macro base station and the neighbor
macro base station, and transmitting data to the selected one macro
base station so that the macro base station and the neighbor macro
base station share the data.
The channel prediction database may further store at least one of
information about a traveling path of the micro base station,
information about geographical features of surroundings of the
micro base station based on the possible positions of the micro
base station, information about possible traveling directions of
the micro base station, and information about possible traveling
speeds of the micro base station.
In another aspect, there is provided a communication method of a
macro base station, the communication method comprising
continuously maintaining a control channel between a terminal and
the macro base station, receiving a handover request message of the
terminal through the control channel between the terminal and the
macro base station, and establishing a data channel between the
terminal and the macro base station in response to the handover
request message or transmitting data to a micro base station in a
cell coverage of the macro base station.
The continuously maintaining the control channel may comprise
continuously maintaining the control channel regardless of whether
a target base station of a handover is the micro base station or
the macro base station.
The communication method may further comprise determining whether
the terminal performs a handover with the micro base station or the
macro base station based on the handover request message.
The transmitting of the data to the micro base station may comprise
disconnecting the data channel between the macro base station and
the terminal when a handover is performed to the micro base station
of the macro base station and the micro base station.
The continuously maintaining the control channel between the
terminal and the macro base station may comprise continuously
maintaining the control channel between the terminal and the macro
base station regardless of the terminal requesting a handover to be
performed from the micro base station to another micro base
station.
The continuously maintaining the control channel station may
comprise continuously maintaining the control channel between the
terminal and the macro base station until a control channel between
the terminal and another macro base station is established.
In another aspect, there is provided a communication method of a
terminal, the communication method comprising continuously
maintaining a control channel between the terminal and a macro base
station regardless of whether a target base station of a handover
is a micro base station or the macro base station, transmitting a
handover request message of the terminal to the macro base station
through the control channel between the terminal and the macro base
station, and establishing a data channel between the terminal and
the macro base station or receiving data from the micro base
station.
The continuously maintaining the control channel may comprise
continuously maintaining the control channel between the terminal
and the macro base station until a control channel between the
terminal and another macro base station is established.
The receiving of the data from the micro base station may comprise
establishing a data channel between the micro base station and the
terminal while the control channel between the terminal and the
macro base station is continuously maintained and when the micro
base station is the target base station.
In another aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage
medium having stored therein program instructions to cause a
processor to implement a communication method of a macro base
station, the communication method comprising collecting position
information about a micro base station that is mobile and that is
served by the macro base station, predicting a channel between the
macro base station and the micro base station using information
stored in a channel prediction database that stores information
about channels between the macro base station and the micro base
station and the position information about the micro base station
based on possible positions of the micro base station, and
transmitting and receiving data between the macro base station and
the micro base station based on a state of the predicted
channel.
Other features and aspects may be apparent from the following
description, the drawings, and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system using a
micro base station.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication
method of a macro base station.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication
method of a micro base station.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another example of communication
method of a macro base station.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication
method of a terminal.
FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
and a macro base station for data transmission and reception.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
and a macro base station when a handover is performed from the
macro base station to the micro base station.
FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
and a macro base station when a handover is performed from the
micro base station to the macro base station.
FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
another micro base station, a macro base station, and a central
unit when a handover is performed between the micro base
stations.
FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
a macro base station, another macro base station, and a central
unit when a handover is performed between the macro base
stations.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a macro base
station.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a micro base
station.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of a macro base
station.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a terminal.
Throughout the drawings and the description, unless otherwise
described, the same drawing reference numerals should be understood
to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The
relative size and depiction of these elements may be exaggerated
for clarity, illustration, and convenience.
DESCRIPTION
The following description is provided to assist the reader in
gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses,
and/or systems described herein. Accordingly, various changes,
modifications, and equivalents of the methods, apparatuses, and/or
systems described herein may be suggested to those of ordinary
skill in the art. Also, description of well-known functions and
constructions may be omitted for increased clarity and
conciseness.
As described herein, the term mobility may refer to, for example,
an object that is in motion or an object that is stationary and
that is capable of being in motion. It should also be appreciated,
an object that is in motion may be stopped at any given time, and
an object not in motion may be set in motion at any given time.
Examples of vehicles in motion include trains, buses, boats,
airplanes, metro-trains, cars, cruise ships, and the like.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system using a
micro base station.
Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system includes a terminal
110, a micro base station 120, and a macro base station 130.
For example, the terminal 110 may be a device carried by a user in
a mobile vehicle such as a car or may be a device moving or
standing still within a cell coverage of the micro base station
120.
In this example, the micro base station 120 is served by the macro
base station 130, and may be installed in a mobile vehicle such as
a car. For example, the micro base station 120 may include a femto
base station, a pico base station, a moving relay, and the like. If
the micro base station 120 is installed in a mobile vehicle, the
micro base station 120 may transmit and receive data to and from
the terminal 110 around the mobile vehicle or in the mobile
vehicle.
Generally, the micro base station 120 and the terminal 110 are
positioned relatively close to each other. Although the micro base
station 120 typically has a smaller cell coverage than a macro base
station 130, the micro base station 120 may transmit data to the
terminal 110 or receive data from the terminal 110 at a relatively
higher speed as compared with the macro base station 130. If the
micro base station 120 is installed in the mobile vehicle such as a
car, the terminal 110 may need to perform a handover frequently,
for example, because of the movement of the vehicle and the
coverage area of the micro base station 120.
The macro base station 130 and the terminal 110 are generally
positioned relatively distant from each other. The macro base
station 130 may transmit data to the terminal 110 or receive data
from the terminal 110 at a relatively low speed as compared with
the micro base station 120.
However, because the macro base station 130 has a relatively larger
cell coverage as compared with the micro base station 120, a
channel between the macro base station 130 and the terminal 110 may
be maintained stably without the need for frequent handovers.
In this example, the terminal 110 may use the advantages of both
the characteristics of channels of the micro base station 120 and
characteristics of channels of the macro base station 130.
Accordingly, the terminal 110 may transmit and receive a high
capacity of data and perform a handover quickly.
Because the micro base station 120 has mobility, a change in a
channel between the micro base station 120 and the macro base
station 130 may be relatively substantial. For example, when the
micro base station 120 is installed in a car and the like, a
channel between the micro base station 120 and the macro base
station 130 may be changed substantially according to time, and
thus it may be difficult to identify the channel between the micro
base station 120 and the macro base station 130.
When the channel between the micro base station 120 and the macro
base station 130 is changed according to time, a large amount of
overhead may be used by the micro base station 120 in order to
estimate the channel and to provide feedback on information about
the channel ("channel information") in real-time or frequently to
the macro base station 130.
In this example, the micro base station 120 and the macro base
station 130 may use a channel prediction database for storing, in
advance, information about respective channels between the micro
base station 120 and the macro base station 130 based on possible
positions of the micro base station 120 in order to efficiently
share the information about the channel. For example, the channel
prediction database may store information about respective channels
between the micro base station 120 and the macro base station 130.
The information about respective channels may include information
about a channel between the macro base station 130 and the micro
base station 120 when the micro base station 120 is at different
locations within the cell coverage area of the macro base station
130.
For example, even though the micro base station 120 does not feed
back the information about the channel in real time or frequently,
the macro base station 130 may identify a channel between the micro
base station 120 and the macro base station 130 through the channel
predication database. For example, if the macro base station 130 is
aware of micro base station information such as a current position,
a previous position, a traveling path, a traveling speed,
geographical features of surroundings, and the like, of the micro
base station 120, the macro base station 130 may identify a channel
between the micro base station 120 and the macro base station
130.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a communication method of a macro
base station.
Referring to FIG. 2, in 210 a macro base station collects position
information about a micro base station that has mobility and that
is served by the macro base station. For example, the micro base
station may collect position information about the micro base
station using a global positioning system (GPS), an accelerator
sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like, and may report information
about the position of the micro base station to the macro base
station.
For example, the position information about the micro base station
may include information about a current position of the micro base
station and may further include information about mobility of the
micro base station. For example, the information about mobility may
include information about a traveling path, information about a
traveling speed, information about a traveling direction, and the
like.
The macro base station accesses the channel prediction database in
order to predict a channel between the micro base station and the
macro base station based on a current position of the micro base
station, in 220. For example, the channel prediction database may
store, in advance, channel information about respective channels
between the macro base station and the micro base station based on
possible positions of the micro base station.
For example, when the possible positions of the micro base station
include (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2), and (X3, Y3), the channel predication
database may store, in advance, information about a signal-to-noise
ratio, a signal-to-noise plus interference ratio, a packet error
rate, a bit error rate, a strength, and a direction of channels
between the macro base station and the locations of (X1, Y1), (X2,
Y2), and (X3, Y3), respectively.
In this example, when the micro base station travels along a
predetermined path, the potential positions of the micro base
station may decrease. For example, the channel prediction database
may further store information about a traveling path of the micro
base station, information about geographical features of
surroundings of the micro base station in the possible positions of
the micro base station, information about possible traveling
directions of the micro base station, information about possible
traveling speeds of the micro base station, and the like.
Accordingly, the channel information stored in advance in the
channel predication database may be calculated, for example, based
on the information about the traveling path of the micro base
station, the information about the geographical features of
surroundings of the micro base station based on the possible
positions of the micro base station, the information about the
possible traveling directions of the micro base station, the
information about the possible traveling speeds of the micro base
station, and the like.
For example, the channel prediction database may store channel
information with respect to a speed of the micro base station v1,
v2, and v3 and a traveling direction of the micro base station x,
y, and z in a possible position of the micro base station (X1, Y1).
For example, when a current position of the micro base station is
(X1, Y1), a current speed of the micro base station is v1, and a
current traveling direction of the micro base station is z, the
macro base station may predict a current channel with reference to
the information about the channels stored in advance in the channel
predication database. Accordingly, the macro base station may
predict the current channel being used by the micro base station
without receiving feedback on the channel information.
In 230, the macro base station extracts information about the
current channel between the micro base station and the macro base
station using the position information of the micro base station
and the channel prediction database.
For example, as described above, when the information about
mobility of the micro base station is identified, the macro base
station may extract the information about the current channel
accurately. For example, the information about mobility of the
micro base station may include a traveling speed, a traveling
direction, and a traveling path of the micro base station.
When the macro base station predicts a traveling path of the micro
base station, for example, when the traveling path of the micro
base station is predetermined and when the traveling direction of
the micro base station is predetermined or has a predetermined
pattern, the macro base station may predict the information about
the current channel more efficiently. Accordingly, even though the
position information about the micro base station is not frequently
collected, the macro base station may predict a current position of
the micro base station reasonably and accurately. As a result, less
overhead may be used to predict the information about the current
channel and more channel space and channel resources may be
conserved.
In some embodiments, if the macro base station does not predict the
traveling path of the micro base station precisely, such as when
the traveling path of the micro base station is not predetermined,
or in an example in which the macro base station desires even more
information about the micro base station, the macro base station
may collect the position information about the micro base station
frequently. In this example, overhead may increase due to the
collection of the position information.
As another example, when the traveling path of the micro base
station is not precisely predicted, or in an example in which the
macro base station desires even more information about the micro
base station, the macro base station may request feedback on the
information about the channel from the micro base station instead
of collecting the position information about the micro base
station. For example, the macro base station may determine whether
the traveling path of the micro base station is predictable, and
may request feedback on the information about the channel, may
request the position information, or may immediately predict the
channel based on a determination result.
For example, the macro base station may use an identification (ID)
of the micro base station to determine whether the traveling path
of the micro base station is predictable. As another example, the
macro base station may determine whether the traveling path of the
micro base station is predictable based on various factors, such as
whether a traveling pattern of the micro base station matches a
predefined pattern or a structure of a road on which the micro base
station stands.
The macro base station performs link adaptation, such as formation
of a beam, based on a strength or a direction of the predicted
channel, in 240. Then, the macro base station may transmit and
receive data between the macro base station and the micro base
station based on a state of the predicted channel, for example,
using a beam formed between the macro base station and the micro
base station.
For example, the macro base station may determine a level of an
optimal modulation and coding scheme (MSC) or may determine an
allocation structure of an optimal wireless resource based on the
strength or the direction of the channel.
The macro base station may perform collective link adaption for a
plurality of terminals in a zone in which the micro base station
exists. In this example, one zone may include at least one micro
base station, and the macro base station may divide an entire space
into a plurality of zones and may perform link adaptation in each
zone. For example, the same beam may be formed for a plurality of
micro base stations that exist in the same zone.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a communication method of a micro
base station.
Referring to FIG. 3, a micro base station collects position
information about the micro base station and reports about the
position information about the micro base station to a macro base
station, in 310. In this example, the micro base station may have
mobility or may be in motion.
For example, the micro base station may predict a channel between
the macro base station and the micro base station using information
stored in a channel prediction database that stores information
about channels between the macro base station and the micro base
station and the position information about the micro base station
based on possible positions of the micro base station, in 320.
The micro base station transmits and receives data between the
macro base station and the micro base station based on a state of
the predicted channel, in 330. For example, the micro base station
and the macro base station may share the channel information about
the channels between the macro base station and the micro base
station, and the micro base station may properly respond to link
adaption performed by the macro base station. For example, the
macro base station may transmit and receive a beam with the micro
base station based on a zone.
The micro base station determines whether there is a need for
additional association between a neighbor macro base station and
the micro base station, in 340. As an example, when the macro base
station does not fill capacity required by the micro base station
for itself, or when the micro base station requires more capacity,
the additional association may be needed. For example, the micro
base station may determine whether the additional association is
needed based on a desired capacity, a state of a channel between
the micro base station and the macro base station, a state of a
channel between the micro base station and the neighbor macro base
station, and the like.
When the additional association is not needed, the micro base
station may continue communication with the macro base station
instead of selecting the neighbor macro base station.
However, when there is a need for additional association between
the neighbor macro base station and the micro base station, the
micro base station reports about the position information about the
micro base station to both the macro base station and the neighbor
macro base station, in 350.
For example, the macro base station may identify the information
about the channels between the macro base station and the micro
base station, and the neighbor macro base station may also identify
information about channels between the neighbor macro base station
and the micro base station. Accordingly, both the macro base
station and the neighbor macro base station may perform link
adaptation, for example, beam formation based on a zone.
The micro base station transmits and receives data with the macro
base station and the neighbor macro base station through two or
more beams formed by the macro base station and the neighbor macro
base station, in 360.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a communication method of a macro
base station.
Referring to FIG. 4, in 410 the macro base station continuously
maintains a control channel between a terminal and the macro base
station regardless of whether a target base station of the terminal
is a micro base station or the macro base. In this example, the
micro base station may be included in a cell coverage of the macro
base station.
When the terminal requests a handover from the micro base station
to another micro base station, the macro base station may
continuously maintain the control channel between the terminal and
the macro base station regardless of the handover request of the
terminal. When the control channel between the terminal and the
macro base station is continuously maintained, the terminal may be
provided with continuous and stable mobility from the macro base
station even if a handover is suddenly performed.
An example in which a terminal requests a handover from the micro
base station to the other micro base station is described with
reference to FIG. 9.
In 410, the macro base station continuously maintains the control
channel between the terminal and the macro base station until a
control channel between the terminal and another macro base station
is established.
For example, when the control channel is established between the
terminal and a next macro base station, the terminal disconnects
the control channel with the current macro base station. An example
in which a control channel is established between the terminal and
the other macro base station is described with reference to FIG.
10.
The macro base station receives a handover request message of the
terminal through the control channel between the terminal and the
macro base station, in 420. For example, the macro base station may
determine whether the terminal is able to perform a handover to the
target base station based on the handover request message.
The macro base station determines whether the target base station
is the macro base station, in 430. When the target base station is
not the macro base station, the macro base station searches for the
target base station, in 440, and transmit data to the target base
station (here, the micro base station), in 450.
When the target base station is the macro base station, the macro
base station establishes a data channel between the macro base
station and the terminal, in 460. In 470, the macro base station
transmits and receives data with the terminal through the
established data channel.
In 430, when the micro base station is the target base station of
the handover, the macro base station may disconnect the data
channel between the macro base station and the terminal. An example
in which a data channel between the macro base station and the
terminal is disconnected is described with reference to FIG. 7.
In 430, when the macro base station is the target base station of
the handover, the micro base station may disconnect a data channel
maintained between the micro base station and the terminal. An
example in which the data channel between the micro base station
and the terminal is disconnected is described with reference to
FIG. 8.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a communication method of a
terminal.
Referring to FIG. 5, in 510, the terminal included in a cell
coverage of a macro base station continuously maintains a control
channel between the terminal and the macro base station regardless
of whether a target base station of a handover is a micro base
station or the macro base station.
In 510, for example, the terminal may continuously maintain the
control channel between the terminal and the macro base station
until a control channel between the terminal and another macro base
station is established.
The terminal transmits a handover request message of the terminal
to the macro base station through the control channel between the
terminal and the macro base station, in 520.
The terminal determines whether the target base station is the
micro base station, in 530.
In 530, when the target base station is the macro base station in
540, the terminal receives data from the macro base station, in
550. In this example, the terminal may establish a data channel
between the terminal and the macro base station to receive the
data.
When the target base station is the micro base station, in 560 the
terminal establishes a data channel between the micro base station
and the terminal and receives data from the micro base station. In
this example, the terminal establishes the data channel between the
micro base station and the terminal while the control channel
between the terminal and the macro base station is continuously
maintained. In 570, data is transmitted and received through the
established data channel (570).
FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
and a macro base station for data transmission and reception.
Referring to FIG. 6, a network includes a terminal 602, a micro
base station 604, a macro base station 606, and a neighbor macro
base station 608.
The micro base station 604 is mobile and is served by the macro
base station 606. The micro base station 604 may measure position
information of the micro base station 604. In 610, a channel
between the macro base station 606 and the micro base station 604
may be predicted using the measured position information and a
channel prediction database that stores information about possible
positions of the micro base station 604. For example, a channel
between the macro base station 606 and the micro base station 604
may be predicted based on the measured position information and the
possible position information stored in the channel prediction
database.
The micro base station 604 may perform association with the macro
base station 606 that serves the micro base station 604 in order to
transmit and receive data of the terminal 602, in 615.
In 615, for example, the micro base station 604 may select an
optimal macro base station using the position information of the
micro base station 604 that is mobile and the information that is
stored in advance in the channel prediction database. Further, the
micro base station 604 may request association with the selected
optimal macro base station.
For example, the micro base station 604 may receive help with
association through communication with the macro base station 606
and may perform the association with the macro base station
606.
The micro base station 604 reports about the position information
of the micro base station 604 measured or collected by itself to
the macro base station 606, in 620.
The macro base station 606 predicts a channel between the macro
base station 606 and the micro base station 604 using the position
information reported about by the micro base station 604 and the
channel prediction database that stores the information about the
possible positions of the micro base station 604, in 625.
The channel prediction may be used to form a beam for data
transmission and reception between the micro base station 604 and
the macro base station 606. In 630, the beam may be transmitted and
received between the micro base station 604 and the macro base
station 606 based on a state of the predicted channel in 625, in a
zone in which the micro base station 604 exists.
In 635, the micro base station 604 which forms the beam for
transmission and reception with the macro base station 606 may
transmit and receive data with the terminal 602 within a cell
coverage of the micro base station 604.
In 635, the micro base station 604 may transmit and receive data
with terminals served by the micro base station 604 using a beam
that is based on a zone with the macro base station 606 as a
backhole.
In this example, the micro base station 604 may serve one or more
terminals in a mobile vehicle in which the micro base station 604
is installed and/or one or more other terminals moving around the
mobile vehicle.
The micro base station 604 may determine whether additional
association is needed between the micro base station 604 and the
neighbor macro base station 608, in 640.
As a result of the determination in 640, when the additional
association is needed, in 645 the micro base station 604 may
perform additional association with the neighbor macro base station
608.
For example, the micro base station 604 may transmit/receive the
beam with two or more multiple macro base stations 606 and 608 in
order to provide transmission and reception services of a high
capacity data to terminals served by the micro base station
604.
When the additional association is performed, the micro base
station 604 reports position information about the location of the
micro base station 604 to the respective multiple macro base
stations 606 and 608, in 650. In 655, the micro base station 604
may be provided with a backhole based on the zone to which the
micro base station 604 exists from the multiple macro base stations
606 and 608, in 655.
For example, when the backhole based on the zone is provided from
multiple macro base stations 606 and 608, in 660 the micro base
station 604 may transmit and receive a high capacity data with the
terminal 602 served by the micro base station 604.
In this example, while the micro base station 604 is a high
capacity channel, handover may be performed unstably because of the
relative mobility of the micro base station 604. Meanwhile, the
macro base station 606 that has a large cell coverage, such as a
macrocell, and which is installed in a fixed position has a
relatively low capacity channel but may maintain the channel stably
because of the large coverage.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
and a macro base station when a handover is performed from the
macro base station to the micro base station.
Referring to FIG. 7, data is generally transmitted and received
among terminal 702, micro base station 704, and the macro base
station 706, in 710. In this example, the micro base station 704 is
within a cell coverage of macro base station 706. As an example,
the terminal 702 may receive a broadcast signal transmitted by an
adjacent micro base station 704 that has a cell coverage Cell V1 to
discover the micro base station 704.
In 710, the terminal 702 continuously maintains a control channel
between the terminal 702 and the macro base station 706 regardless
of whether a target base station of a handover is the micro base
station 704 or the macro base station 706.
For example, if a level of the broadcast signal received from the
micro base station 704 is a predetermined value or more, in 720 the
terminal 702 may request a handover from the macro base station 706
to the micro base station 704 through the control channel between
the terminal 702 and the macro base station 706.
In 720, the terminal 702 may request the handover, for example, by
transmitting a handover request message to the macro base station
706. For example, the handover request message may include
information about quality of the broadcast signal received to the
terminal 702 and channel-related information.
The macro base station 706 may determine whether the handover is
possible to the target base station which in this case is the micro
base station 704, based on the handover request message, in
730.
When the macro base station 706 determines that the handover is
possible to the micro base station 704, the macro base station 706
performs the handover between the macro base station 706 and the
micro base station 704, in 740.
In 740, when the macro base station 706 determines to perform the
handover, the macro base station 706 may report information about
the handover to be performed to a central unit 708, such as an
evolved packet core (EPC). The macro base station 706 forwards
related data to the micro base station 704 so that the micro base
station 704 may prepare to transmit data of the terminal 702.
Accordingly, the micro base station 704 completes preparation in
order to accommodate the terminal 702.
The macro base station 706 may accept the handover to the terminal
702 by reporting about the handover to be performed, in 750.
When the handover is performed, the micro base station 704 is set
as a serving cell to perform control of the terminal 702 and to
transmit and receive data, in 760.
When the micro base station 704 is the target base station, a data
channel between the terminal 702 and the macro base station 706 is
disconnected, and a data channel between the terminal 702 and the
micro base station 704 is connected in order to transmit and
receive data.
However, the terminal 702 continuously maintains the control
channel between the terminal 702 and the macro base station 706
regardless of whether the target base station of the handover is
the micro base station 704 or the macro base station 706, in
770.
Because of the continuous maintenance of the control channel, the
terminal 702 may be provided with quick and stable mobility from
the macro base station 706 which is fixed in position even if a
handover is suddenly performed.
FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
and a macro base station when a handover is performed from the
micro base station to the macro base station.
Referring to FIG. 8, data is transmitted and received between a
micro base station 804 and a terminal 802 traveling within a cell
coverage Cell V1 of the micro base station 804, in 810.
In 810, the micro base station 804 is set as a serving cell to
maintain a control channel and a data channel with the terminal
802. In this example, a control channel between the terminal 802
and a macro base station 806 is also maintained.
The terminal 802 transmitting and receiving data with the micro
base station 804 may request a handover directly from the macro
base station 806 through the maintained control channel, in 820,
for example, when quality of a signal received from the micro base
station 804 deteriorates.
The quality of the signal received from the micro base station 804
may deteriorate, for example, when a traveling path between the
moving terminal 802 and the moving micro base station 804 is
changed, when there is an obstacle between the terminal 802 and the
micro base station 804, when an interference phenomenon occurs
between the terminal 802 and the micro base station 804 because of
another terminal adjacent to the micro base station 804, another
micro base station, another macro base station, and the like.
In 820, the macro base station 806 reports information about the
handover to be performed to the micro base station 804 based on the
request of the handover. In 830, the macro base station 806
performs the handover from the micro base station 804 to the macro
base station 806, and accepts the handover to the terminal 802, in
840.
When the handover is performed, the macro base station 806 is set
as a serving base station, and data is transmitted and received
through the data channel between the terminal 802 and the macro
base station 806, in 850.
When the macro base station 806 is a target base station, the
control channel and the data channel between the micro base station
804 and the terminal 802 are disconnected. The reason why the
channels may be disconnected is that the channels may not need
maintaining in the macro base station 806 fixed in position.
FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
another micro base station, a macro base station, and a central
unit when a handover is performed between the micro base
stations.
Referring to FIG. 9, micro base station 903 having a cell coverage
Cell V1 transmits and receives data with terminal 901 and serves as
a serving base station of the terminal 901, in 910. In this
example, a control channel between the terminal 901 and macro base
station 907 is continuously maintained.
The terminal 901 requests, from the macro base station 907, a
handover from the micro base station 903 to another micro base
station 905, in 920. For example, the terminal 901 may request a
handover when the terminal 901 discovers the other micro base
station 905 has a cell coverage Cell V2 that is better in quality
of a channel.
In 920, the terminal 901 may use the continuously maintained
control channel between the terminal 901 and the macro base station
907 in order to request the handover.
Further, in 920, the terminal 901 may request the handover from the
macro base station 907, for example, using a handover request
message, and the macro base station 907 may determine whether the
terminal 901 may perform the handover to the other micro base
station 905 based on the handover request message.
For example, the handover request message may include information
about quality of a signal received to the terminal 902 from the
respective micro base stations 903 and 905 and channel-related
information.
When the handover between the micro base stations 903 and 905 is
determined to be performed, the macro base station 907 reports
about the handover to be performed to a central unit 909, such as
an EPC. For example, the macro base station 907 may forward related
data to the other micro base station 905 so that the other micro
base station 905 may prepare to transmit data of the terminal 901.
Accordingly, in 930 the other micro base station 905 prepares to
accommodate the terminal 907.
When the macro base station 907 reports that the handover to the
terminal 901 is completed, in 940, the terminal 901 sets the other
micro base station 905 as a serving base station in 950, and
transmits and receives data with the micro base station 905.
In order to transmit and receive the data, the terminal 901 may
establish a new control channel and a new data channel between the
terminal 901 and the other micro base station 905.
When the terminal 901 requests the handover from the micro base
station 903 to the other micro base station 905, the control
channel between the terminal 901 and the macro base station 907 is
continuously maintained regardless of the handover request, in 960.
As described above, because of the continuous maintenance of the
control channel, the terminal 901 may be provided with quick and
stable mobility from the macro base station 907 that is fixed in
position even when a handover is suddenly performed.
On the contrary, the data channel and the control channel between
the terminal 901 and the micro base station 903 are
disconnected.
FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a terminal, a micro base station,
a macro base station, another macro base station, and a central
unit when a handover is performed between the macro base
stations.
FIG. 10 illustrates an example where data is continually
transmitted and received between terminal 1001 and micro base
station 1003, and the handover is performed from macro base station
1005 supporting mobility of the terminal 1001 to another macro base
station 1007.
In this example, the micro base station 1003 has a cell coverage
Cell V1 and transmits and receives data with the terminal 1001 as a
serving base station of the terminal 1001, in 1010.
In 1020, the terminal 1001 continuously maintains a control channel
between the terminal 1001 and the macro base station 1005.
The terminal 1001 requests, from the macro base station 1005, a
change of the control channel to the other macro base station 1007,
in 1030. For example, when the quality of a signal received from
the micro base station 1003 is superior, but quality of a signal
received from the macro base station 1005 fixed in position
deteriorates, and the terminal 1001 discovers a new macro base
station 1007, the terminal may request, from the macro base station
1005, a handover of the control channel from macro base station
1005 to macro base station 1007.
The change of the control channel is requested through the
continuously maintained control channel between the terminal 1001
and the macro base station 1005.
As another example, when the micro base station 1003 has a channel
with the terminal 1001, the change of the control channel with
respect to the macro base station 1005 may be requested through a
control channel between the terminal 1001 and the micro base
station 1003.
When the change of the control channel is requested, in 1040 the
macro base station 1005 and the other macro base station 1007
change the control channel through information exchange and
settings between each other, and report about the change of the
control channel to the central unit 1009, such as an EPC.
In order to control stable mobility of the terminal 1001, in 1050
the macro base station 1005 reports about the change of the control
channel between the terminal 1001 and the macro base station 1005
to the terminal 1001, when the change of control channel is
completed.
For example, the macro base station 1005 may report about the
change of the control channel through the control channel
maintained between the terminal 1001 and the macro base station
1005.
To manage the mobility, in 1060 the terminal 1001 establishes a
fixed control channel between the terminal 1001 and the other macro
base station 1007, and continuously transmits and receives data
using a data channel between the terminal 1001 and the micro base
station 1003, in 1070.
In the networks including a micro base station described with
reference to FIGS. 7 to 10, interference may occur among a
terminal, the micro base station, and a macro base station. In
order to reduce or prevent interference, for example, an
interference control method may use a transmission power control,
such as a delta-sigma modulation (DSM).
As another example, the interference control method may include a
distributive interference control method in which interference is
controlled in each position where the interference occurs or a
centralized interference control method in which interference is
controlled within a cell coverage of a macrocell.
For example, the centralized interference control method within the
cell coverage of the macrocell may use interference alignment,
interference mitigation, an interference-noise reduction, dynamic
spectrum management for transmission power control, and the
like.
To perform the centralized interference control method, a micro
base station and a macro base station may exchange control
information through a channel.
As an example, the above-described examples may be applied to both
a frequency division duplex system and a time division duplex
system and may also applicable to other kinds of systems.
FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a macro base station.
Referring to FIG. 11, macro base station 1100 includes a collection
unit 1110, a channel prediction database 1120, a prediction unit
1130, and a transmission and reception unit 1140.
The collection unit 1110 collects position information about a
micro base station that has mobility and that is served by the
macro base station. The collection unit 1110 may also collect
information about the mobility of the micro base station. For
example, the information about the mobility of the micro base
station may include a traveling speed, a traveling direction, and a
traveling path of the micro base station.
The channel prediction database 1120 stores channel information
about channels between the macro base station and the micro base
station based on possible positions of the micro base station. As
another example, the channel prediction database 1120 may also
store at least one of information about a traveling path of the
micro base station, information about geographical features of
surroundings of the micro base station based on the possible
positions of the micro base station, information about possible
traveling directions of the micro base station, and information
about possible traveling speeds of the micro base station.
The prediction unit 1130 predicts a channel between the macro base
station and the micro base station based on information stored in
the channel prediction database 1120 that stores information about
the channels between the macro base station and the micro base
station based on the possible positions of the micro base station,
and the position information about the micro base station,
collected by the collection unit 1110.
As another example, the prediction unit 1130 may predict a channel
between the macro base station and the micro base station based on
the information about mobility of the micro base station collected
by the collection unit 1110.
The transmission and reception unit 1140 transmits and receives
data between the macro base station and the micro base station. For
example, the transmission and reception unit 1140 may
transmit/receive data based on a state of the channel predicted by
the prediction unit 1130.
FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a micro base station.
Referring to FIG. 12, micro base station 1200 may be, for example,
a femto base station, a pico base station, a moving relay, and the
like. As an example, the micro base station 1200 may be installed
in a mobile vehicle. The micro base station 1200 includes a
collection unit 1210, a channel prediction database 1220, a channel
prediction unit 1230, and a transmission and reception unit
1240.
The collection unit 1210 collects position information about the
micro base station and reports about the position information to a
macro base station.
The collection unit 1210 may include, for example, a GPS, an
accelerator sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like, which may be used
to collect position information about the micro base station and
information about the mobility of the micro base station.
As another example, the collection unit 1210 may collect the
position information about the micro base station using channel
information including a degree of arrival (DOA) in the micro base
station.
The channel prediction database 1220 stores channel information
about channels between the macro base station and the micro base
station based on possible positions of the micro base station. As
another example, the channel prediction database 1220 may store at
least one of information about a traveling path of the micro base
station, information about geographical features of surroundings of
the micro base station in the possible positions of the micro base
station, information about possible traveling directions of the
micro base station, and information about possible traveling speeds
of the micro base station.
For example, the channel prediction database 1220 may be built
based on a topographical model in order to predict a channel using
the possible positions of the micro base station.
The channel prediction unit 1230 predicts a channel between the
macro base station and the micro base station using information
stored in the channel prediction database 1220 that stores
information about the channels between the macro base station and
the micro base station based on the possible positions of the micro
base station, and the position information about the micro base
station, collected by the collection unit 1110.
The channel prediction unit 1230 predicts a channel between the
macro base station and the micro base station to transmit and
receive a beam based on a zone. For example, a beam formation unit
(not shown) may form a beam based on a zone by setting up a
parameter of the beam based on the zone based on the predicted
channel.
The transmission and reception unit 1240 transmits and receives
data between the macro base station and the micro base station
based on a state of the channel predicted by the channel prediction
unit 1230.
Further, the transmission and reception unit 1240 may transmit and
receive data between a terminal and the micro base station.
As another example, the micro base station may further include a
cell formation unit (not shown) to provide a service to each
terminal within a cell coverage of the micro base station. The cell
formation unit may further include a backhole load balancer (not
shown) which determines a backhole to transmit and receive data of
each terminal within the cell coverage of the micro base station
and to connect the data of each terminal to the backhole. As
another example, the cell formation unit may further include a data
processing unit (not shown) to process data received from one or
more backholes into data for one micro base station or to change
data received from each terminal within the cell coverage into a
related form for backhole transmission.
The cell formation unit may determine a service to be provided to a
terminal and may control the terminal based on whether the terminal
is positioned nearby or within a mobile vehicle including the micro
base station.
For example, when the terminal is positioned in vehicle including
the micro base station, a relative speed may be 0 and stable
transmission and reception is possible. However, when the terminal
is positioned outside the vehicle including the micro base station,
channel-aware scheduling may be needed because the relative speed
may be more than 0 and surroundings may be changed, for example,
due to shadowing that is caused by cars cutting in, and the like.
In this example, the cell formation unit may preferentially provide
a service to a terminal having a good channel condition.
When the terminal is positioned in a vehicle including the micro
base station, the micro base station may manage an `Active`/`Idle`
MAC state.
However, when the terminal is positioned outside the micro base
station, the micro base station may manage only an `Active` MAC
state, and the macro base station may always manage an `Idle` MAC
state. When a change to an `Idle` MAC state is needed, the micro
base station may perform a handover to a macrocell (macro base
station).
For example, the micro base station may further include a
communication controller (not shown) to control an operation of the
micro base station by communication with the macro base station.
For example, the communication controller may control an operation
of the micro base station based on a control message transmitted
and received with the macro base station or control a channel with
the macro base station.
As another example, the micro base station may include multiple
antennas, for example, an antenna installed outside a mobile
vehicle for communication with an external base station, an antenna
installed outside a mobile vehicle for transmission and reception
with a terminal around the mobile vehicle, and an antenna installed
in a mobile vehicle for transmission and reception with a terminal
in the mobile vehicle.
FIG. 13 illustrates another example of a macro base station.
Referring to FIG. 13, macro base station 1300 includes a control
channel maintenance unit 1310, a message reception unit 1320, and a
data channel establishment unit 1330.
The control channel maintenance unit 1310 continuously maintains a
control channel between a terminal and the macro base station
regardless of whether a target base station of a handover is a
micro base station or the macro base station.
For example, the control channel maintenance unit 1310 may
continuously maintain the channel between the terminal and the
macro base station until a control channel between the terminal and
another macro base station is established.
The message reception unit 1320 receives a handover request message
of the terminal through the control channel between the terminal
and the macro base station.
The data channel establishment unit 1330 establishes a data channel
between the terminal and the macro base station, in response to the
handover request message received by the message reception unit
1320.
Further, the data channel establishment unit 1330 transmits data to
a micro base station, in response to the handover request message
received by the message reception unit 1320.
FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a terminal. Referring to FIG. 14,
terminal 1400 includes a control channel maintenance unit 1410, a
message transmission unit 1420, and a data channel establishment
unit 1430.
The control channel maintenance unit 1410 continuously maintains a
control channel between the terminal and a macro base station
regardless of whether a target base station of a handover of the
terminal is a micro base station or the macro base station.
For example, the terminal may continuously maintain the control
channel between the terminal and the macro base station to be
provided with quick and stable mobility from the macro base station
fixed in position even when a handover is suddenly performed.
In this example, the terminal is included in a cell coverage of the
macro base station.
The message transmission unit 1420 transmits a handover request
message of the terminal to the macro base station through the
control channel between the terminal and the macro base
station.
The data channel establishment unit 1430 establishes a data channel
between the terminal and the macro base station or receives data
from a micro base station.
It should be appreciated that the examples described with reference
to FIGS. 1 to 10 may be applied to the examples shown in FIGS. 11
to 14.
The methods, processes, functions, and software described above may
be recorded, stored, or fixed in one or more computer-readable
storage media that includes program instructions to be implemented
by a computer to cause a processor to execute or perform the
program instructions. The media may also include, alone or in
combination with the program instructions, data files, data
structures, and the like. Examples of computer-readable storage
media include magnetic media, such as hard disks, floppy disks, and
magnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM disks and DVDs;
magneto-optical media, such as optical disks; and hardware devices
that are specially configured to store and perform program
instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory
(RAM), flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions
include machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files
containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer
using an interpreter. The described hardware devices may be
configured to act as one or more software modules in order to
perform the operations and methods described above, or vice versa.
In addition, a computer-readable storage medium may be distributed
among computer systems connected through a network and
computer-readable codes or program instructions may be stored and
executed in a decentralized manner.
As a non-exhaustive illustration only, the terminal device
described herein may refer to mobile devices such as a cellular
phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital camera, a
portable game console, an MP3 player, a portable/personal
multimedia player (PMP), a handheld e-book, a portable lab-top
personal computer (PC), a global positioning system (GPS)
navigation, and devices such as a desktop PC, a high definition
television (HDTV), an optical disc player, a setup box, and the
like, capable of wireless communication or network communication
consistent with that disclosed herein.
A computing system or a computer may include a microprocessor that
is electrically connected with a bus, a user interface, and a
memory controller. It may further include a flash memory device.
The flash memory device may store N-bit data via the memory
controller. The N-bit data is processed or will be processed by the
microprocessor and N may be 1 or an integer greater than 1. Where
the computing system or computer is a mobile apparatus, a battery
may be additionally provided to supply operation voltage of the
computing system or computer.
It should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that
the computing system or computer may further include an application
chipset, a camera image processor (CIS), a mobile Dynamic Random
Access Memory (DRAM), and the like. The memory controller and the
flash memory device may constitute a solid state drive/disk (SSD)
that uses a non-volatile memory to store data.
A number of examples have been described above. Nevertheless, it
should be understood that various modifications may be made. For
example, suitable results may be achieved if the described
techniques are performed in a different order and/or if components
in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are
combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by
other components or their equivalents. Accordingly, other
implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
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